Cleary Gottlieb represented Crédit Agricole S.A. with its panda bond offering of ¥2.5 billion (around €324 million at current exchange rate) senior preferred bonds due 2027 under its ¥10 billion panda bond program in China.
No less than ¥1 billion of the net proceeds will be retained in Renminbi and used onshore to support Crédit Agricole S.A.’s and its subsidiaries’ business activities and development in China, and the remainder of the net proceeds may be remitted out of China and swapped to other currencies (such as euro) to be used offshore to support Crédit Agricole S.A. and its subsidiaries’ business activities and development, subject to the satisfaction of the applicable requirements of the regulatory authorities and completion of the required procedures under the applicable Chinese laws and regulations.
The offering closed on April 19, 2024, and was led by Bank of China Limited, as lead underwriter and lead bookrunner, and Industrial Bank Co. Ltd., Agricultural Bank of China Limited, Fubon Bank (China) Co. Ltd., DBS Bank (China) Co. Ltd., CITIC Securities Company Limited, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Limited, Bank of Shanghai Co. Ltd., Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank (China) Limited, and Deutsche Bank (China) Co. Ltd., as joint lead underwriters and joint bookrunners. The panda bonds will mature in 2027 and bear a fixed interest rate of 2.58% per annum.
Crédit Agricole S.A. is the lead bank of the Crédit Agricole Group, which is the largest banking group in France and one of the largest in the world.